Lovely weather for a sleigh ride

The plan was simple.  Take the girls to the mountain to do some skiing. We're hard core mountain parents, we could totally handle it.  No problem.

We joined forces with the Lodges for an attempt at a winter mountain adventure and we sure had our sights set on greatness. We packed up the skis and a couple of sleds and headed for Mt. Hood.

Our destination was White River, where we could ski or sled and have gorgeous mountain views the whole time. As we pulled into Government Camp, we started seeing signs like this: "Parking lot FULL" at Ski Bowl. "Road closed, parking lots full" as we passed Timberline Road. The Trillium Lake parking lot was overflowing onto the highway. It was about that time my phone rang. It was Julia. "We're just going to pull into Snow Bunny. We better just take parking where we can find it!"

We pulled into Snow Bunny, a small tubing hill that really isn't very popular because they charge you.  It was about this time we aborted our "hard core" plan and opted for an even simpler one. Sledding on the hill next to the parking lot for free.

Kate looks at the other sledders with, hmmm, trepidation?

Julia and Eden

Haley and Eden, as adorable as they come.

Kate and B ripping it up!

Geoff and his girls.

All my favorite snow bunnies in one spot.

 Snow smurfs.

Who cares that the sledding only lasted for about 45 minutes and that we were at the Ice Axe pub enjoying beers by 1:30pm. The girls had a blast and if the girls are happy, everybody's happy.

Next time? We will definitely be hard core. Next time? We won't head to the mountain on a weekend during Christmas break. Aye karumba.

Merry Christmas!

A little photographic snack from Christmas morning at our house.

 Nope, I guess I don't fit in here.

 Checking out the new people on her bus.

 4-way Google chat with the fam. Awesome and ridiculous at the same time.

Kate checks out her new John Deere green. If you ask what a farmer says, she will reply, "E I O." That's my little Nebraska girl!

Holiday Traditions

Finally! Our Christmas Eve skiing tradition continues! Sort-of.  We were still missing Julia this year, but after a two year hiatus, we got our HoyLodge skiing tradition back on track and spent a cold, but sunny day on the mountain.  We dropped Kate off at a cozy mountain cabin with babysitter extraordinnaire, Tanner, and headed for Mt. Hood Meadows with Geoff.

Powdery snow and blue skies made it a great welcome back and an awesome first day on the slopes for the season.

We ended our day with Christmas Eve service with Julia and the girls and a delicious dinner back at their place.  The girls are really starting to become friends and all Kate will say now is "Edie! Edie!" Eden and Haley are quickly becoming her favorites. We can't wait until the mini-HoyLodges are old enough to join us on the slopes for Christmas Eveski. You will never hear so many giggles in your life.

Santa's Workshop: Lake Oswego Branch

This year, B and I decided that Santa might like to bring Kate a play kitchen for Christmas.  To help the guy out, I did a little research in the form of browsing Instagram and finally found one that I thought fit her taste.  (And by "her taste", of-course I mean mine.  They were all too cutesy or way too pink.) I emailed the Instagrammer--I also follow her blog--and she responded with the brand and there ya have it.  Operation Shake & Bake, completed.

Except for one tiny thing: assembly. This kitchen came in a surprisingly small box which meant a surprising number of pieces.  Not to fear! Uncle Craig was in town and totally willing to be B's right hand man.

 Manny was named Chief of Quality Control.  Actually, he slept a lot on the job.

 Merry Christmas Kate!

Hoybooks

A big, huge thank you to our friend Brittany for helping us out at the zero-hour by taking some great family photos for our 2012 Christmas card.

Snow Day

While this wasn't Kate's first snow day (see here), our little snow smurf definitely had a bit more fun this time around.

The light in our world

Last week was rough. First, a terrifying shooting at the mall connected to my store on Tuesday and then the tragic, horrifying shooting in Connecticut on Friday.  I'm still having trouble gathering my feelings and understanding what can be done to prevent these tragedies in the future. Both events have been a constant presence in my mind ever since.

I'm finding comfort in my daughter. She has lit up our world when we needed it most this week and we are so grateful for her.  We ventured out on a cold night last week to see the Zoo Lights and it was a much needed emotional break for all of us.

What we do all day long

Kate's newest obsession?  Watching videos of herself on our phones.

And yes, she is wearing her down coat and no pants.  Apparently on this particular night, her legs were burning up but her body was freezing.

A Step-by-Step Guide: Volume 3

How to pick out a Christmas Tree

Step 1: Look adorable.

Step 2: Show Mommy and Daddy where the trees are.  Walk through a lot of mud.

Step 3: Yell at Mommy while she picks out a tree. 

Step 4: Do some more yelling, but this time, yell at the noisy migrating geese. Do some pointing at the geese too.

 Step 5: Supervise Daddy while he cuts down the tree Mommy picked out.  Say to him, "what doing?"

Step 6: More supervision, but this time, make sure Daddy doesn't fall off the tire while he puts the tree on the car.  Say things like, "woah" and "tee!"

 Step 7:  Pose for an adorable family self-portrait.  Yell at some more geese.

Step 8:  Go home and surprise everyone while you stay out of the way and seem uninterested while the tree is decorated.  

The New Kate Dictionary

Little K has been talking up a storm these days.  She's all "puppy" this and "baby" that.  "Oh no" and "uh oh" are used at surprisingly appropriate times. So is "woah." Mommy is me and Daddy is B, but "mama" means she wants to read the llama book and we aren't quite sure what "too dada" means yet.  "Wawa" is water and she can also clearly say soup, doing, bingo, book, elk, football and milk.  Hmm, can you tell I'm a proud mom?

One word that we can decipher loud and clear is "ungol."  Uncle.  She will see photos of Craig and Scott and will point at them and kiss the photo and say over and over, "ungol, ungol, ungol."  She even pointed at the TV the other day when she saw a guy with long hair and kissed an ad for Ralph Lauren in one of my magazines. 

Who knew those Olson uncles made such an impression?

Attention Olson aunties: don't worry ladies, Kate is working hard to learn Brook and Bridget. We are so close. Right now, Brook comes out as book and Bridget is halfway there with an adorable "Brie."

Reason #402

Why Portland is awesome, reason #402: Director Park.

Director Park, in downtown Portland, used to be a crummy old parking lot.  Now, it has an outdoor coffee shop, wading fountain and this fun chess set which provided a solid thirty minutes of glee for Kate. Seriously, can this town get any cooler?